CRYPTOCURRENCY

Forty Seven Will Bridge The Gap Between Cryptocurrency and Fiat with Bank as a Service (BaaS)

Often, to understand the potential value of an idea or vision, we must first step back and look at the larger picture. And we must do so realistically, not based on what we prefer but rather on what is. Forty Seven is an ICO, currently live, that might not grab our attention right away. But if we examine the larger context, and the likely course that history will take, it becomes clear that this team has zeroed in on something important, and has addressed the incumbent needs thoroughly and intelligently. To understand why, we must first zoom out a bit.

If you’re one of the nearly 800,000 people following John McAfee’s Twitter feed, you may have seen and participated in a series of polls designed to gauge the cryptocurrency demographics and habits of the audience. One of the questions, displayed below, asked the audience to assess the future of cryptocurrency, and how it will relate to traditional financial instruments.

4% of the respondents firmly believed that cryptocurrencies will disappear in the future. One cannot imagine what they believe will happen to it – the cat is out of the bag and history instructs us that even the most repressive regimes cannot overcome math or physics in the end. Nor demand, the life blood of the marketplace and the progenitor of every black market. Cryptocurrency is assuredly here to stay, in one form or another. What that future will end up looking like is certainly a matter for fair debate. The remaining respondents in the poll were split, with 27% expressing the belief that fiat currencies will disappear, and by extension take with them any associated institutions that fail to adapt. The remaining 69% stated the belief that cryptocurrency and fiat currencies will coexist, for better or worse.The simple format of a multiple-choice poll leaves a lot unanswered. One wonders, of the 27% that believe cryptocurrency will conquer all, how many are indulging in extreme wishful thinking. In other words, that is the outcome they desire, so that is the belief they state. And, of the 69% that believe in coexistence, how many are giving what they believe to be a realistic assessment rather than their own preference. Probably quite a few, and I see one of them in the mirror every day. To suggest that fiat currency, and all of the associated institutions, will simply disappear is as silly as suggesting that cryptocurrencies will do the same. Certainly not on the short or medium term. If that were to happen, it would refute nearly every example of technological transition that history has recorded. While this is possible, it is not probable. The most likely scenario, one which would be in keeping with historical trends as we know them, is that there will be a long period of coexistence, perhaps indefinite. And this is not necessarily a bad thing. The freedom to choose is what is essential, not domination. Domination is what cryptocurrency is meant to obliterate, not to emulate. To deny that traditional financial systems have extreme momentum at this point in history would be fatuous, and momentum converts to staying power in the real world. If all of this is true, then there would be tremendous opportunity in the future for products and entities that can bridge the gap between the two, allowing them not only to coexist, but to interoperate on each other’s terms. While this state of affairs would not represent the total victory some cryptocurrency enthusiasts are hoping for, it is in all cases at the very least an intervening reality on the road there. It is fair to suggest that those that help solve the riddle of successful and painless coexistence will be moving us one necessary step closer to the utopia.What the experienced and extremely talented team at Forty Seven has done is to envision what the glue layer between traditional currencies and institutions, and their budding cryptocurrency counterparts, could and should look like. The answer is Bank as a Service (BaaS), similar to the software models that have been so successful. What this model does is provide an API for banking and acceptable gateways across which old and new can interact. It allows the two systems to share in the movement of value between individuals, tearing down walls and increasing the choices available to the individual.

The project’s whitepaper spans 72 pages and contains an exhaustive roadmap for the vision. Many good, valid projects are in the vision stage when they proceed to ICO. In the absence of a working prototype there is always added risk, and savvy investors have a right to expect a thorough outline of the solution, and Forty Seven lives up to this expectation. It is clear they have considered how this glue layer should function, and have a solid plan to implement it. If they get it right, or even half right, there is a lot of money to be made. Financial services is a tremendous industry that will not simply vanish. But there will be new players, and the most profitable of these new players will be those that can provide useful services to multiple marketplaces. The Forty Seven model abstracts the concepts associated with each, and will empower organizations on both sides of the fence, as well as the individuals compelled to use both systems either through choice or circumstance. The ICO for Forty Seven is currently live, with their softcap target already reached. The ICO will continue through March and into April, for those that are interested. Keeping with the theme of the project, Forty Seven is set up to allow purchase using Via or Mastercard once you complete the KYC (Know Your Customer) process. To learn more about Forty Seven you can visit the homepage and reading the 72 page whitepaper. The project, whitepaper and team have been vetted by Team McAfee and audited by CryptoConnection.

Rob Loggia

Rob Loggia is the founder of LoggiaOnFire, and has been published in the International Business Times UK, Digital Trends and on numerous online blogs and platforms. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Team McAfee. In 2015 he launched Vacant Minds Media as a platform for content that other publishers won't touch. He also was a member of the Core Team for John McAfee's 2016 bid for the office of President, and is working to help plan McAfee 2020, with a primary goal of bringing cryptocurrency to the forefront of national attention.

Do I regret anything that's happened? No, not a single thing I've ever done.